Who Needs Them

Friends come
And go,
Like ships and lovers
Like shoes, and rooms
And birthdays.
They have remained to,
Like the stars and soil
Like Harper’s magazine,
Uranium and
plastic bags,
Like Gamma-rays
and Billy Holiday.
They have also died,
Like asbestos and
Shell suits
Like fairground goldfish,
The elderly and
Poorly potted plants.
They have come back,
Like the plague and
the postman,
like the touring football team
Like the hungry fox and the
Cold-sore.
They were all born
Like the firework,
And the sunrise
Like the song,
and pearls of wisdom
and cancer,
Like hurricanes
And by-laws and
Bad punctuation.
Some fade away
Like old comedians
Like commets, dreams,
And your good looks,
Like departing trains
and those late night sirens
Like embers
and the kick from caffine.
Some want to fight
But are normally
Drunk and fall over,
Some want to hug
But are normally
Drunk and fall over.
They move into your home
Like the damp,
Like spiders
And wood worm
Then never do
the washing up,
just steel your cigarettes
and socks and
margarine.
They break you down
About the shirts you wear
Or the girl you like.
They wind you up
in fancy dress
With good intentions
In sidings and skips
And pubs
They are in fixes,
infatuations
And mires
In corporate boxes
Bingo halls
And bus shelters
But they are never too
Far away.

By Gregory Sodergren